A Different Beginning
by damionsnonadventures
Summary: It all starts with a friendship. The outsider, the madman, and the one who ran away, thick as theives, or muderers, or adventurers, or whatever you want to call them. How does an OCs involvement change the Doctor's and the Master's life? Starts with snapshots of their time at the Academy. Polyamorous Theta/OC/Koschei
1. Chapter 1: Theta

When Theta first met Jip, she was a small fury filled red-head who socked a boy in the nose for pushing Theta into a wall. He thought he'd finally made a friend. Until he tried to introduce himself and the other student said she didn't associate with snobbish rich children of Time Lords and stomped away. Theta dropped his extended hand and blinked stupidly at the girl's back. The House of Lungbarrow was a large house, but hardly rich by Time Lord standards.

Theta thought about the girl all day. He almost asked someone around him about her, where she'd come from. But he had no one to ask. As far as everyone else at the Academy was concerned he was a freak. He wasn't to be spoken to, unless others wanted to be bullied too.

Fortunately, he got his chance to find out more about her later in the day.

Torvic, the boy who had pushed Theta earlier, suddenly came into view as he was sitting outside under a tree. His nose and left eye were a dark purple color, and Theta thought his nose might be a little crooked. He was surprised the girl had actually left a mark. Torvic was much bigger than either of them. Theta had tried hitting him back before and he barley even flinched.

The older boy's hands shot out and then Theta's feet weren't on the ground. He looked down. Torvic's fists were holding him up by his second hand school robes. Theta's breath quickened in fear.

"Now that your girlfriend isn't here, how should we settle this, Lungbarrow?"

Theta kicked his legs out uselessly. He took a deep breath, accepting he was going to have to take a beating for this to be over. "Um, are you asking for pointers on bullying?"

A hard punch to the gut left him breathless.

"No, I'm asking which finger you want me to break." He sounded far too happy about this.

"..N-none of the-" another punch and Theta thought he might never breathe again.

"I'm giving you a choice, here. If you don't pick one, I will."

Torvic dropped Theta when the only response he gave was more gasping and a hacking cough.

Theta immediately tried to run, one hand on his stomach and the other clawing at the ground as he kicked his legs for the leverage to get up and run. Then there was a weight on his back and hands holding his right thumb tightly and then a sickening snap. Theta screamed.

"Get off him!" Theta heard somewhere behind him. He dimly wondered who was defending him this time. He felt the weight on his back disappear and curled into a ball, holding his right hand close to his chest.

Theta flinched when he heard a sharp slap echo through the air. Everything went quiet and he fought to open his eyes through the tears he hadn't realized were there.

The girl was there, her head to the side, eyes locked with Torvic. Theta could have sworn her eyes were glowing red. He gasped when he saw the girls fist shoot out lightning fast to connect with his bully's stomach and sending him a good few feet away from them. Theta stared in shock at Torvic's limp form in the grass. Was it possible for someone so young to be that strong? Then the girl turned calmly to him and offered a hand. He stared at it for a few seconds before taking it with a wide grin.

"That was so cool! How did you do that! Wait!" he yelled as she scowled and dropped her hand. "Sorry," he started more calmly at the girl's tense expression. "Um, I mean, thank you. No one ever defends me, I wasn't trying to be rude.." he trailed off at the puzzled look in her eyes. Theta coughed like he'd seen his father do when things got too quiet, like he could clear the air of the stillness. Theta didn't think it worked very well in this situation though. "I'm Theta Sigma." he told her, sticking his unbroken hand out for her to shake.

She stared for a second before gripping his forearm in a strange hand shake. "You can call me Jip."

Theta smiled big, not caring about the hand shake other than to wonder where this girl had come from, where she'd learned it. "Nice to meet you Jip."

The red head gave a small smile. Theta thought she looked beautiful.

* * *

Theta met Koschei at dinner, later that night. Theta didn't know anyone, didn't have anywhere to sit. He saw Jip sitting with a boy with raven black hair and took a chance. He sat next to the boy, across from Jip, with a soft smile. "Hi," he said to look from one to the other, eyes finally stopping on the boy, he held his hand out. "I'm Theta Sigma."

The boy frowned, shaking his hand politely before reaching out to grab Theta's bandaged finger. Theta screamed. The boy dropped it instantly and turned to scowl at Jip. "Some hero you are, his finger's broken!"

Jip glared at the boy. "He was like that when I got there," there was a pause, "And I'm not a hero! I just hate bullies." Jip stabbed viciously at her food before looking up again with rage in her eyes. Theta noted they were brown this time and once again wondered where she was from. "Next time, I might have to kill him."

The other boy took this with calm indifference and before taking a bite of his own food said, "You can't do that. You're too impulsive. You'd get caught."

"A girl can dream, Koschei." Jip said finally, frowning down at her food. "Why does he get to live? To spread fear and hatred? And why do we need to put up with it? Because some snobbish Time Lord family thinks their son is the next Rassilon?"

Theta found himself staring down at his plate, a deep frown on his face. After months in the Academy of being bullied, he couldn't help but agree with Jip. He didn't like it, the hatred that was growing for the people around him. Everyone just stood by. Everyone except Jip.

"Don't think so much," were the words that snapped him out of his thoughts, "They're the problem, not us."

Koschei's words stuck with him, and that night, hidden in a barn where Torvic couldn't find him, he promised himself he'd never stand by when other's were being hurt.

* * *

 _Water in his lungs, up his nose, in his eyes, burning everywhere, can't breathe, can't breathe..._

 _Helplessness. Rage, red, hatred, adrenaline, white, shaking hands grabbing the first big rock he sees, strength he didn't know he had as he swung the rock down onto Torvic's head, a crack and a splash, red, red, red, blood in the water, blood on his hands, his robes.._

 _And he won't move, Torvic won't bloody get up, one last trick on him as he goes to his grave. He'll make him move, he needs to move. **MOVE!**_

Theta sat up bolt right in bed, shaking so much and breathing so shallow he thought he was dying.

"It doesn't have to be you," said a female voice. Theta scrambled out of his makeshift bed, finally realizing he was in the barn again.

"What?" Theta asked dumbly, startled to see a woman was standing over him. She was beautiful. Long black hair, pooling around her shoulders and down her back. Black robes that made her look elegant yet strong. But there was a darkness surrounding her. Theta took an involuntary step back, making the woman smile widely at him in a way that should have looked calming. "Who are you?"

"I see a fire in you, young Time Lord. Enough to swallow worlds-"

"What are yo-"

"Enough to swallow up that boy's body."

Any blood left in Theta's body soon drained out at those words. _She knows..!_

"I didn't mean to! He was killing Koschei! I had to-"

"Shut up."

Theta's jaw clicked shut.

"You made a choice. A choice while you were engulfed in fire, and ice, and the danger of a dear friend. But you've marked yourself."

"M-marked myself?" his voice came out small and cracking. Dread was filling the room and Theta couldn't seem to shake it.

"As Death's Champion, young Time Lord." her face held sorrow, but her eyes were so still and expressionless that he didn't think he could trust any emotions he got from her body language. "Now you have a choice to make."

Theta stood completely still. Death's Champion. He'd heard the legends, read about them in school when he should have been doing his classwork.

"No! Anyone but me! You can't take me, I won't do it! I won't kill for you!"

Death shook her head sadly. "Then you must choose."

"Choose what?" he asked through clenched teeth. Death's face lit up.

"Oh, there it is!"

He froze. His fists were balled up at his sides, face pinched in an angry scowl. Was that her? "Stop!"

"That's not me," Death said smugly.

"I'm not stupid, I know you're doing this now I said STOP!" Theta hated this. He hated feeling trapped. That's all he ever was; trapped. Trapped in the city, in the Academy, in this barn, and now in emotions he never wanted pulled out in the first place. Something in him snapped. " _STOP!"_ And Theta _pushed_. The anger left him instantly and his knees gave out from under him. Death stood over him.

"Choose."

He was breathing in hard pants. He knew what she wanted. Someone else.

Theta stayed there, on his hands and knees before Death, for eight minutes and forty-six seconds. There was no way out of this.

Finally, he said the name he'd been thinking of all along.

"Koschei."


	2. Chapter 2: Jip

The first friend she made in the Citadel was a dark haired boy who called himself Koschei in impossibly clean robes. She told him her name, her real name, not realizing it was tradition to hold one's name sacred. Koschei's face went beet red before he explained and offered up the name Jip like she was a pet. "I'll just call you Jip," he'd said. Her eyes narrowed, looking for fault in his name logic.

There was fault. But that didn't mean the boy wasn't telling the truth. So the newly dubbed Jip let it go with a shrug, accepting the name easily. What did it matter anyway? No one knew her here.

She wished she could go back in time and punch the kid straight in the nose. Never mind that he was a year older than her, he was bratty enough to be a kid in her eyes.

"Oh, Jippy!" she'd hear him call out to her every day.

Every damn day.

And every day she shouted the same thing.

"Shut the fuck up, Koschei!"

People's heads turned, people snickered. She was the uneducated loser. The runt of the litter, the outsider. The mouthy little redhead who didn't deserve to be in the Citadel in the first place.

Koschei always just smirked. Jip slapped the back of his head.

* * *

So far, Time Lord society was exactly what she thought it would be. People who thought they were better than everyone else because of the fancy robes they wore, the status of their family, and where they lived.

She was a low class Gallidreyan surrounded by the children's children's of Time Lords with a free pass to the education everyone else was born into. She wasn't liked.

Koschei was from an upstanding House, always wore clean robes, and spoke of others in a repeated, snobbish way that gave Jip the impression that he was just saying things he'd heard from his parents. He never spoke down to her, like everyone else. The emotions she felt from him were mostly positive towards her. She could almost trust him.

That was a lot for her.

* * *

Theta Sigma was a strange child. He never wore shoes, said he hated the way they felt on his feet. And he had a childish naivety to him that was rare on Gallifrey, especially, it seemed, among Time Lords.

Everyone picked on him. It made Jip's blood boil.

Even Koschei befriended him almost instantly. He was so fiercely loyal neither could resist. He reminded her of a sun; a wonderful burning fire. The three became close in such a short amount of time that Jip wondered if there was something to it.

Then, she found out there was.

All three of them were playing by a river one day, as they often did. They loved going on little adventures outside the city. Jip, because nature was her element, Koschei, because he thought it was peaceful, and Theta, because of the feel of red grass and flowing water between his toes. Theta had a lot of explorer in him, always finding new paths to take, new trees to climb all the way to the top. All three of them because the Academy was driving them up the wall.

They went there to get away, instead Torvic had to ruin that by following them.

He went for Theta first, shoving him hard into the waist deep water.

Jip saw red, but before she could do anything, Koschei was charging at the bully with fury. He tackled him around the waist, pushing the boy and himself into the water. Both were thrashing wildly, trying to get at the other. Theta was standing a few feet away, looking around helplessly.

Koschei surfaced long enough to gasp out, "Jip!"

Jip ran. She barley felt the water spash around her as she grabbed her first real friend and pulled him up. She shoved him backwards as soon as he'd caught his balance enough to stand, and even though the current pushed against him he still went back a few feet, out of Torvic's range.

She could feel her eyes turning red, energy burning through her. Torvic was standing in the water in front of her, looking furious. Jip swung, missed, and was tackled much the same way Koschei had tackled him.

"No!" she heard Koschei yell. She struggled to get out of Torvic's grip without a good shot to hit him, still, her anger was a stormy calm. There was no way he could stay under long enough to drown her, and soon she could find a good angle and break his nose the other way.

Then he let go and she heard more splashing. She jumped up to see Torvic holding Koschei under by his neck with a malicious grin on his face. She went to run to them, save Koschei from drowning, but Theta beat her to it. With a rock in his hand he swung down, clumsily, onto Torvic's skull. There was a wet smack and a splash and Jip knew instantly he was dead. _Shit, Theta..._

Theta was staring wide eyed down into the water, not yet understanding what he had done. Koschei stood up and pulled him into a fierce hug.

"You saved my life, Theta," he said into Theta's neck. Theta didn't move, didn't stop staring, so Jip pulled both boys into a hug.

All three of them burned the body, but Jip had to take charge, telling the others how to do it. Still, it was done hesitantly, all of them new to such violence. Both Jip and Koschei kept touching Theta throughout the horrible clean up, trying to keep him with them. He could barely look at them and didn't respond to hugs, hand holding, or just brushing against him.

They all stood around and watched in morbid curiosity as the body burned, only Theta stood staring everywhere but the fire.

Until Koschei broke the silence. "Theta... It was self defense."

Theta only sniffed, eyes glassy.

"He was attacking us," he sounded less sure of himself, speaking quietly.

Theta shook his head. "No."

"There was nothing else you could have done. This would have happened no matter what." Jip said, knowing it to be true.

Koschei scowled at her. "What the hell does that mean?"

Jip shuffled uncomfortably. "I just know, ok? This was fixed. One of us would have needed to do this. This binds our Time Lines together."

"You say that, but how do you _know_?"

"Gift of the Schism," is all she would say.

* * *

"Theta Sigma has chosen Koschei," said Death.

Jip's hearts fell in grief for the young Time Lord. For the choice he made to spare himself the corruption.

"You are their Protector. You may choose who is Mine."

She didn't know what she meant, but the decision came instantly. "Me."

Death grinned like a shark. "You won't remember this, you know of course."

"But you can make me remember."

"I could," she amended

"Do it," Jip said in determination, "Do it, that's the only way you're getting me."

Death looked at her with false sadness. "As you wish, young Time Lord."

* * *

She remembered it both ways.

Theta lifting the rock with rage and desperation.

But the way all three of them remembered it, it was her.

Her eyes glowed red, and with strength no one of her size should have, she swung the rock down, caving in the boy's skull.

Koschei helped burn the body, as Theta stood by with fear. Jip knew her abilities were scary, but she'd hoped he'd understand. Even if he didn't remember killing Torvic, he still had a darkness in him, and loyalty that drove him to commit the murder that started all of this.

When the body was nothing but a burnt husk, sunk to the bottom of the river with rocks, Theta turned on shaky legs and ran.

Jip stared after him until Koschei pulled her into a hug, clinging to her. She clung back and buried her face in his robes.

"This was the only way," she said shakily.

"I know," he said soothingly.

"I had to save you, both of you. This was the only way," she repeated, needing him to understand. She knew she couldn't tell him, not yet, maybe not ever.

"This wasn't your fault."

"I know," she sounded sure, even though she didn't feel it, "But I had to fix it."

Koschei frowned, not understanding, but he put it down to shock.

Jip was close enough to feel the confusion coming from him and her hearts sank further.

Finally, they both pulled back. Koschei took her hand, she could feel the worry he felt about her, about leaving her alone, and they started their slow walk back to her room. Koschei slept on the floor on her bed. She watched him sleep, dread for what was to come keeping her from sleeping.


	3. Chapter 3: Koschei

_A/N: No I don't own Doctor Who, I only own Jip_

 **I'm open to suggestions for plot or subplot, feedback on the characters and how I'm interpreting their younger years. This story is going to be long, spanning acrossed all their regenerations.**

* * *

Koschei had his first kiss at the age of thirteen. Koschei, Jip, and Theta were all laying in his father's field, Theta still without shoes. He thought Theta may never wear shoes. One sun was going down over the horizon, making the trees around them look like they were on fire. Koschei thought they looked like Jip's eyes when she was filled with fury and power. Beautiful.

Jip was getting good at reading thoughts. She must have heard because she suddenly leaned over and landed a short kiss on his lips. Koschei's whole body went warm and he smiled stupidly up at her.

She smiled softly at first, then frowned and looked at Theta. Koschei looked over, Theta was glaring at the trees like he was the one lighting them up. Jealousy? Koschei looked back to Jip and gestured with his head over to him, knowing she'd know what he was asking. She nodded, then leaned over Koschei to kiss Theta on the lips, like she'd done with him. Theta jumped then smiled.

Koschei thought he looked beautiful, too.

* * *

The drumming was a constant, soft tempo in his mind. Nothing like when it first started, when it seared itself into him at his Initiation. Jip was getting so good at hearing his and Theta's thoughts without even trying, that he wondered if she could hear them.

Even though they were quiet, they still itched at his mind. Sometimes, when he got angry, they were like a call to arms going off in his brain. They got louder, louder until he couldn't think clearly.

But like his mother told him, he tried to think of them as a gift.

He'd still prefer Jip's gift. Even if he wasn't completely sure what her gift was. He'd asked her, but she always said she didn't know, it could manifest in any way, whatever that meant. Koschei had never heard anything like it. He supposed that's what got her into the Academy in the first place. But then what had she meant by "gift of the Schism"?

He was being called. He felt it tug with every beat of the never ending noise. He could feel himself losing it. The control he had always had over himself, a product of the beatings his father gave him, were slipping ever so slowly.

The beat was soft, but years of it weighing on his mind was wearing him down.

* * *

Koschei's seventh year at the Academy involved a lot of hiding in closets and running from teacher. And kissing in closets.

Jip, Koschei, and Theta had come to an agreement, sort of. It was kissing in agreement, that much Koschei was sure of. They were still friends, meaning their relationship didn't change. But they'd all started something else. Something closer.

When any of them sat next to the other they'd be touching, leaning on each other, or holding hands.

* * *

"You three are not very discreet."

Koschei jumped, closing the closet door much too quickly for it to look like he was just in there for a blanket.

"Luckily, I don't have to be, seeing as I was looking for a clean blanket." He said calmly.

Ushas raised an eyebrow, with that stony expression she always wore. Then, much quicker than Koschei thought her capable, she lunged forward and pushed the door wide open. Theta was in there, struggling to get the top half of his robes back on. Koschei kept his face stoic, while Theta stammered away for a while before actually pulling words together.

"Um, the uh, some boys stole my robes, Koschei brought me some more from my roo-" Theta started until Ushas interrupted him.

"You two and Jip do this at least three times a day when you should be in class, not to mention, both your families are into arranged marriages," she turned to look only at Koschei. "You know your father better than I do but from what I have seen, he would not approve. Remember where you are, this is a dangerous game. Consider the consequences of having intercourse with two people your father would never allow you to be involved with. Consider what would happen if a teacher caught you. This is a place that is meant to only teach us and they are very strict."

Koschei scowled at her while Theta stood in the backround, finally getting his robes on completely, face and ears beet red . Koschei grabbed Theta's hand and pulled him out of the closet then faced Ushas with a cold expression.

"We don't need advice," he said, then pulled Theta along with him towards Jip's dorm.

"And Theta!" Koschei felt his frustration building as Theta actually stopped and turned around. Koschei tugged insistently on his hand. "I saw your grades. You're failing almost every class."

Koschei gave a hard tug and finally they were walking hand in hand towards Jip's room.

* * *

"She is right, though."

Koschei stopped dead in his pacing to glare at Jip, who was sitting on the bed. His hearts were beating wildly, the drums louder than he could remember them being. He couldn't lose this. He needed it, needed them, or he really might go mad.

Jip must have heard him as her eyes softened. "About getting caught. We should set up more precautions."

Koschei let out a slow breath in relief, then started running his hands through his hair. It _hurt._ It had never hurt before. They were getting _worse_ and Koschei didn't know how he could live with this. The itching in the back of his mind, the constant noise, now _pain_.

Jip's eyes went wide as he passed her. Shit, why did he think like that in front of her. But he just couldn't seem to control his thoughts.

As he came back around Jip grabbed him by the waist and pulled him onto the bed next to her, he closed his eyes against the pain of jogging his head around. When he opened them, he was on his back, Jip above him, glaring down. Shit shit shit.

She grabbed his throat, holding him down. His hearts beat frantically in his chest, Jip was scary when she was mad. For the first time that day, he was so focused on something else he didn't notice the drums.

"Listen to me, Koschei. You will not harm yourself! You are Koschei of the House of Oakdown, you are Koschei the Deathless. Do not let an obnoxious noise be your downfall."

Koschei swallowed his fear in exchange for anger. He grabbed her wrists and pushed in an attempt to dislodge her, to no effect. "It isn't just a _noise_ , Jip," he spat, "If it was a sound, maybe I could handle it. It's a pulling! Constantly. I can't control my thoughts, I think about things. Violent things. They're driving me mad! I don't act on any of it. But how long do you think that will last?"

Jip practically growled. She pulled him up by his robes, noses touching, red eyes searing into his. "You will hold out as long as you need to!" her grip softened as she lowered him back down to the bed, knees on either side of his hips. "Until you can't and then we will deal with it. I'll still be here, no matter what you do. You have already seen me at my worst, what does it matter to me if I see you at yours?"

Then she leaned down, kissing his neck. He tilted his head back, falling back into the feeling and the distraction.

Then she was ripping his clothes off, tearing his good robes, taking control. He let her, enjoying letting his careful control slip away.

After he lay with his head on her chest, completely relax in the silence and Jip's steady, soft breathing.

She must have told Theta, because the next time the drumming got out of control, the next time he was losing control of himself, Theta was on him. He tried taking control, holding Koschei down, but he could tell it was forced, clumsy. Koschei flipped them in a smooth movement and kissed him breathless. After, there was such a blissful silence that Koschei thought he'd finally found a way to beat the drums.

* * *

They would often sneak out together to explore the forests. They found a lot of interesting things. Once, they even found a very old tree house a mile into the thick, silver leaved trees. After that, they always met up in the tree house.

They'd decided Ushas was right, that maybe she was just trying to help them. They started taking precautions. Each of them would come to the tree house at least five minutes apart. The first to arrive would scout the area. Theta and Koschei were better for that job, as Jip could hear their thoughts if it wasn't clear.

Ushas sent them many knowing looks, but she never confronted them again which made them think she approved of their new methods. Not that she knew what those were, but she hadn't caught them since the closet incident.

A while later, the three had started a friendship of sorts with her. It started with Koschei, actually going up to her to thank her for what she had said. He didn't clarify what he was talking about, but she must have known, as she gave a self-important smile and gestured for him to sit down next to her on the couch in the lounge. She had three different books balanced on her lap and a notebook covered in notes and equations and DNA strands on the couch to her right. Koschei sat on her left.

"If you want to repay me, you could assist me with a project I am working on."

Koschei thought about it. With school work, spending time with his.. partners? And whatever demands his father made, he barely had any time. But his curiosity got the better of him and he gave a small shrug.

Ushas grabbed her notebook, turning the page to write something that took up half the paper. Then she handed it to him.

"The DNA coding of a rabbit?" he asked in confusion as he studied the page. "This isn't even right."

" _Obviously,_ " she said, scowling, "If you can find every mistake I made, fix it, and create the strand of DNA that would make the rabbit purple with longer claws, you may repay me with your assistance. Do you accept?"

Koschei scoffed, grabbing the pen out of her hand. He completed his work in five minutes, taking up two pages with explanations of the corrections and changes he'd made before handing it back to her indifferently.

Ushas examined the pages, eyebrows pulled together in concentration, before giving a curt nod. "You may help."

"Help with what, exactly?"

"This," she said, flipping the pages back to the ones she was originally on and flipping the book so he could see.

"Hmm, and you want to create this creature?"

"I have been trying," she said unhappily.

They spent days at a time in Ushas' lab, determined to get it right.

Eventually it turned into all four of them sitting in Ushas' dorm room, tossing ideas back and forth while Theta struggled to stay awake. He did better with hands on stuff than theory. Finally Ushas had enough with him not contributing and started doing demonstrations. After that, Theta's biology grades started improving and he actually became a lot of help.

Koschei liked where they were. He hoped he was wrong and they'd stay like this forever. But he knew it couldn't last, not with the drums growing stronger, slowly, by the day.


	4. Chapter 4: Theta

Being in a relationship with two other people was interesting. Being in a relationship with his best friends was amazing.

But as they grew older, Koschei became more and more distant. And after so many years, Koschei and Jip's cynicism was starting to wear off on him. Then, something even more interesting happened.

He found an unlocked TARDIS. Theta went to Koschei's room first, then Jip's room, and finally found them in Ushas' lab, which, admittedly, he should have checked first as that was where they'd been spending most of their time, but he was so excited he didn't think.

Theta entered the lab grinning and bouncing around like an idiot. Both of his partners were watching the door when he entered and he guessed they must have felt him coming. Ushas was too busy with something to look up, or she didn't care that much which was more likely.

Everyone around him was getting much better at telepathy while his skill seemed to stay the same. He barely had any shields, he was an open book. He'd need to ask Koschei about helping him improve. It was hard to keep secrets when his thoughts were broadcasted to anyone close enough to hear them.

They were all huddled in the corner, after he'd entered, both Jip and Koschei went back to watching whatever Ushas was doing. Koschei was watching in fascination, while Jip was scowling down at it with her arms crossed.

"This is incredibly cruel, Ushas, even in the name of science."

Ushas looked up and sneered saying, "I will reattach it, if you have such a problem with it."

Jip looked thoughtful for a moment before giving a curt nod of reluctant acceptance.

Theta practically skipped over to his partners, landing a passionate kiss on both of them before turning to look at what Ushas was working on and his eyes widened.

It was a severed rabbit leg, cut open and held with clamps, muscle pulled back and veins and bones exposed.

"It worked? And you killed it! Why would you do that?" Theta exclaimed.

Ushas sneered at him. "It is not dead, it is over there. As for whether we created it correctly, we have not tested it yet."

Theta spun around to where he knew the cage sat. Inside was a pure white rabbit. One leg was missing and in its place was a line of stitching.

"Why not test it first? Instead of chopping its limbs off." Theta said, offended for the first of its kind.

Ushas started writing notes and spoke without looking up, "Considering the difficulty and time it would take to rework out which DNA strands to isolate, isolate them, and feed the correct amount of energy from the Time Vortex into them, create the first cell, then speed up the growth process, I would like to study this creature while it is still alive in case we fail." Ushas explained. "Once I am done studying everything I can, one of you can kill it and we'll see if it regenerates."

Koschei came over to the cage and smirked at the creature inside. He got that look sometimes, and it always made Theta worry. Greed.

Jip slung an arm aroung Theta's shoulders and pulled him close, talking quietly into his ear, "Once we are done here you can show us what you found." Theta's worry forgotten, he grinned excitedly at his girlfriend. "We need to work on your shielding, darling."

"But it's so boring!" he whined playfully. Jip smacked him lightly upside the head and he pouted.

"Jippy! Theta! Do you know what this could mean?" Koschei exclaimed, spinning to look at them. "Unlimited regeneration! Maybe even _better_ regeneration. Without any kinks or side effects or acceptions. Rassilon, this could change everything!"

Theta frowned, finally understanding the magnitude of their project. "How illegal is this..?"

Ushas is the one who answered, "Illegal enough that if anyone found out we would be exiled without trial." She turned to glare fiercely at him. "But the people in this room are the only ones who know, meaning if anyone else finds out you are all losing your tongues."

Koschei scoffed, "You can try, you mean. Jip could kill you with her finger."

"And I am very skilled with knives."

Ushas started stitching up the leg, movement fast and precise.

Koschei opened up the cage, pulling the rabbit out and placing it in Theta's arms. Theta's face lit up at the small fluffy creature. First of its kind. "This is amazing."

"Obviously," Ushas deadpanned.

Theta rubbed the rabbits head as he watched Ushas sear the leg's flesh back together, then remove the stitching to reveal a long scar.

"Why not use more advanced healing methods?" Jip asked.

"Why are you so concerned over such a primitive creature?" Ushas asked, like she really didn't understand, "When we force the regeneration I would like to see if the scars heal as well."

"This is pretty cruel.." Theta agreed.

Ushas shrugged and got back to writing notes.

"It may be," Koschei said, still smiling, "But it's worth it."

* * *

Koschei and Jip left the lab following Theta's lead. Jip with a knowing smirk and Koschei with confused concern.

Anyone who looked at him could tell he was a ball of excitement, he was never good at hiding his emotions like the other two. And Ushas. It seemed to be a Time Lord trait to be clinical and closed off. One that Theta had never had. Maybe he would grow out of being so open, like he had with never wearing shoes until he sliced his foot open on a rock.

Jip had always been rough around the edges, but even she was becoming more and more Time Lord as the years went by.

They reached an area they weren't supposed to be in and Jip, being the most sensitive telepathically, took the lead, knowing where to go by Theta's thoughts. They had to stop a few times to hide when people walked by, but they reached the room with the old, broken down TARDISes fairly quickly.

"And you're worried about our project being illegal," Koschei said playfully as they stood in front of the TARDIS Theta had found.

Without the chameleon circuit on, it looked like a big white cylinder. Theta could hear it singing in his mind and smiled softly and fondly at her, like she was an old friend. Theta reached out and pushed the door open. "Come on, look around!"

The desktop theme was on default, everything white, the console a hexagon.

Jip was the first to start examining the console. The other two still staring around in awe, thinking about the possibilities.

The first thing Theta was going to do was take his partners on a date. A proper one, with flowers and candles and a whole new world to explore. A whole new culture to learn about.

"Theta, this can't go anywhere, there's so many repairs we would need to do just to get her to dematerialize." Jip said eventually.

Theta's hearts sank, then surged up with hope. "But we can repair it! Right? I found the keys under the console, we can sneak in here and do repairs without anyone knowing or us getting locked out."

"A fifty one year old and two fifty year olds steal a TARDIS, the CIA will be on us before we can even take off." Koschei finally spoke, looking thoughtful.

Theta was ready to start begging. He saw this going differently, he was going to welcome them aboard and then whisk them away to some beautiful planet.

"We can try to disable the sensors, and any remote influence they have over this TARDIS," Jip suggested, grabbing Theta's face and pulling him into a quick kiss. "Relax, we can make this work."

Theta beamed at her.

Koschei, who had been running his fingers along the console said, "Do you think anyone has ever had a threesome in here?"

"Hmm, we could, in case no one else has," Jip said seductively.

* * *

Over the next week, they slowly moved all the books and tools they would need to the TARDIS. The control room was a mess. Scattered with open text books, manuals, diagrams, and notes. There were pieces of paper taped all over the walls, the console, sticking out of pages.

They had a lot of work to do, and not enough knowledge to do it. But they were nothing if not determined.

They quickly realized Theta didn't have the patience nor the coordination to keep up with Koschei and Jip. Instead the other two worked on the TARDIS while Theta worked on his telepathy. First he was starting off with shielding, then he was going to move on to communicating. He wanted to always have a link with his partners, like his partners always had a link to him.

He opened his eyes after half an hour of meditating, imagining cement walls encasing his mind. "I'm ready!"

Koschei rolled his eyes and put down some parts he had been working on to walk over to him. Theta stood up, like he had last time.

Koschei leaned in close, staring in concentration into the other boy's eyes. He felt a prodding on the walls, Koschei testing them. He gave a quick nod and Theta grinned. Then came the hard part.

Koschei started speaking quietly, softly, seductively, "Theta, you will listen to me. Obey me. You love it, when I tell you what to do, don't you?"

Theta felt his defenses melting away. He caught himself halfway through a nod and focused harder on his shields. Koschei had a shark like grin.

"That's it. Listen to my voice, Theta. You will obey me," Koschei paused, eyes locked on his, staring into him, "Kiss me, Theta."

Theta couldn't stop himself. He surged forward, grabbing the back of his head to pull him forward. Theta was falling into it, sinking into his will. He ran his fingers through the other boy's hair. He could feel Koschei laughing in his mind, smirking into Theta's mouth. He started pulling at his robes-

 _ **STOP!**_

Theta jumped back with a gasp at hearing Jip yelling into his head, abruptly cutting the connection. Koschei turned to glare at her.

"You could have let him get a little further."

"The point of this exercise is for him to learn control. You're rewarding him for bad behavior."

"Just _a little_ further, and then I would have pulled him out of it. Instead of screaming into his mind like that."

"Meditate some more. Remember, the wall is solid. You need to learn the wall, every inch, the same width or you'll leave gaps. Think of what it feels like to touch it, how hard it is, the temperature. Thinking of it being cold to the touch will help you remember that it is concrete, then relearn it but warm, feed your mental energy into it." Jip said to Theta, ignoring Koschei.

"Yes, mummy," Theta said sulkily, missing Jip's cringe as he sat back on his place on the floor and closed his eyes.

The other two got back to work.

* * *

Ushas called the rabbit Trial I, Theta started calling him Trail, as a nickname.

"Trail like a bunny trail," he defended his name choice.

Jip kissed him. "I like it, Theta."

He often went to the lab to play with Trail. Every day he had more and more scars, but he seemed healthy enough. Even if he was missing an appendage he would still hop around, slightly lopsided.

He ate a _lot_. Which had them all worried. Koschei and Ushas for their experiment, Jip and Theta for his health. He was eating to make up for a rapid energy depletion and they still couldn't find the cause. They thought it had something to do with the regeneration energy dormant inside him.

Theta just started putting him in a large container filled with vegetables he'd found in the forest whenever it was time for him to eat. He'd eat a lot of it, then he'd stop and Theta would put him back in a little play pen he'd made for him. He put a rubber ball in with him one day and ever since it had been his go-to toy, pushing it around with his nose and bouncing it against the pen's walls.

" _Usually_ , an energy loss of this size only happens after a regeneration, but for some reason having the potential is draining it at a steady rate," Ushas said thoughtfully.

"Maybe a rabbit is too small," Jip suggested.

"No," she said in determination, "There must be a way." She picked up one of her many notebooks and started writing furiously. "Time Lords evolved through thousands of years from exposure to the Time Vortex, there _must_ be a way for us to harness that."

"Maybe if you feed the energy into the DNA slower, give it time to adjust," Koschei suggested. Theta could tell he was getting frustrated, and for the hundredth time he worried about why he needed this so badly.


	5. Chapter 5: Jip

Jip was getting frustrated. Not about anything in particular. She felt it building up inside her. Theta hated it when she got into fights. They weren't fair, he said, she could pumble anyone. She agreed with him, but she had a murder she didn't commit stuck inside her and it itched at her in a way she couldn't explain. Everyone pissed her off. She fought with herself every time she heard someone thinking about her, they never thought anything good.

Fighting wasn't good for her. It was doing something to her. The one hook knock out she usually did wasn't enough to cool her anger. Instead she started grabbing Theta's hand when she felt it building up. He'd wince and she'd feel bad but she could feel the pride rolling off him and it helped.

Koschei didn't think it was a problem. They deserved it, they were better than them and if they picked a fight with the strongest Time Lady at the Academy then that was their problem.

But like Koschei and his drums, Jip didn't know what this would do to her. She could be something terrible in the future, all because of a deal she made to save her best friends, her boyfriends.

Then Koschei started fighting for her. He'd come back to Ushas' lab with fat lips and black eyes and a calmness he only ever had when they were alone together.

Even Theta had a general hatred for their situations. He hated where they were, the people around them. Jip felt it from him whenever they were in the Academy walls. There was a trapped feeling, a need to get out.

They were all restless. Unfortunately the TARDIS repairs were going by very slowly. Jip wanted them away from Gallifrey before they all completely lost their minds.

* * *

Jip felt Koschei coming like a storm. Jip and Theta were on Jip's bed playing three dimensional chess when she stopped mid move to stare at the door.

"What's wrong?" she heard Theta ask. She shook her head.

"Something's up with Koschei. He's coming this way and he's angry."

Jip felt Theta's worry. They both knew the drums were getting worse.

They played a few more moves, Theta glancing at the door nervously every so often.

Jip jumped up just before the door slammed open, Koschei stomped in and Jip closed and locked the door behind him.

"Ushas got caught! All her research is being confiscated, we'll never get it back!" all of this was said in a rush as he paced in the middle of the floor. His hands were clenching and unclenching, eyes filled with pain.

Theta jumped up in concern. "Are you alright?"

" _No!_ Did you hear me, all of it's gone!"

Jip rushed to stand in front of him, blocking his path, and grabbed his shoulders to stop him from moving. They'd all noticed touch seemed to help him when he was like this.

"Koschei, take a few breaths, ok?"

Koschei gave a frustrated growl but breathed in deep anyway, glaring at Jip the entire time. Jip smiled reassuringly.

"Now," she said when he seemed calmer. "What has happened?"

"I _told_ you alrea-" he stopped at her pointed look, taking another breath, "Ushas let something slip out mentally in front of a teacher. They used the mind probe on her, found out everything except our involvement. They took her away, exiled her, she stole a TARDIS on her way out, and now all her research is being confiscated."

"Lucky her.." she heard Theta mutter and winced as Koschei rounded on Theta.

"Except now all our work is out the window, our recognition is out the window, our i _mmortality._ She may have a TARDIS but everything is _gone._ Not to mention, without her, who knew her notes better than any of us, we can't recreate her project!"

Jip forced his head back to look at her. "We fix our TARDIS, we rewrite the notes to the best of our abilities, we leave and continue elsewhere."

Koschei scowled and backed up, Jip letting him go, and started pacing again, face pinched in pain.

"No, no, no, no you don't understand! It _hurts!_ They want something! They're driving me towards something, I feel them pushing and pulling and _banging_ my mind! That could have been it. Immortality. They want something important! I _need_ to make them let me go! I can't do this," Koschei spun so he was facing both of them, so they could clearly see the tears running down his face. His eyes focused on Theta, silently begging, then Jip, "Please," he spoke quietly, "You must hear them. You _know_ things, you see things, please. Just tell me what they want!"

Jip shook her head sadly. "I don't know, Koschei. I can't hear them."

Koschei's face fell, then his expression turned furious. He stormed towards the door, stopping to knock Jip's dresser over in a burst of anger, and slammed the door on his way out.

Theta and Jip stayed silent.

Then Jip spoke, "We should go work on the TARDIS, maybe a trip somewhere will help him." She started moving around the room, grabbing a few calculations she'd been working on for the repairs.

"I don't think she's ready yet."

"Nor I, but maybe we can get one good trip out of her as she is."

"Or," Theta said tentatively, "We could go explore Gallifrey further."

"There's not much we haven't seen, Theta, that isn't going to help." She grabbed a few blankets in case they needed to sleep before they could leave. "He needs to get out of here."

"We still haven't gone all the way out yet."

That made Jip stop and give Theta a threatening look. "To the towns?"

Theta gulped, nodding and quickly going into his explanation, "I know you said they hated us down there, but we all look the same! We could wear clothes like they wear down there, act like we know what we're doing, no one will know the difference!"

"Theta it does not matter what we wear we still look and act like Time Lords. Maybe I could still fake it but you and Koschei just _smell_ of Time Lord. They're...very rough down there." But that would be good, wouldn't it? Take Koschei down to the towns, get into a brawl with some punk. Koschei would probably calm down after that. Jip would too. "But," Theta looked up, hopeful and Jip regretted it instantly. Still, she carried on, "If we're careful we could avoid trouble."

* * *

That's how they ended up all sitting at a bar in some small town, wearing old, dirty shirts and pants. Koschei was scowling down into his drink, occasionally scratching at his arms where the rough material was irritating his skin.

"Just drink it," she muttered under her breath.

"It's gross!" Koschei said louder than he should have. Head's turned briefly their way. Jip felt Theta get nervous and squeezed his hand. Koschei then swallowed the rest of his drink in one gulp, and gagged loudly.

Jip rubbed his back soothingly, making it easier to speak to him mentally. _"You're trying to get into a fight."_

Koschei glared at her. _"Why else bring me here? It's dirty and the people are invalids._ You _want a fight. So just wait for someone to say something and we will have one."_

Jip scowled at him. _"That may have been the original intent but we are making Theta nervous."_

Koschei smirked, glancing briefly at Theta. _"Trust me, little Theta can hold his own. And it's not like we'll let anyone near him."_

Jip's eyes widened in realization. _"You_ have _been teaching him how to fight!"_

" _Hm, among other things."_ Koschei's smirk became flirtatous, _"It's all up to you from here. Say something profane about Shabogons,"_ Jip shot him a murderous glare, _"it's up to them from there."_

Koschei could be very manipulative at times but he had never frustrated her more with his scheming. Now Theta would blame both of them. He wasn't stupid, he'd know Jip only agreed to go to a bar in a seedy area to join in on a fight she knew Koschei would start. He'd know they joined up in the end.

But the blood was pumping through her and she could feel Koschei's pain.

They all had a few more drinks, Koschei not even complaining about the drinks anymore, completely leaving it up to her.

Finally, after Jip had passed drunk and had another beer, she took a deep breath and sucked it up, "Why did we even come all the way down here! It's filled with Shabogon scum!"

A man at the end of the bar stood, towering over them next to Theta. "The fuck did you just say!"

Jip moved to stand in front of Theta, glaring daringly up at the man. She felt Koschei stand next to her while Theta remained seated, at a loss as to what to do.

"I _said_ you're Shabogon scum. The smell you're letting off is atrocious."

The man's face went red, his eyes narrowed. "Who are you? I know you from somewhere."

Jip got nervous then, not betraying any of it in her face or her body language.

The man's face lit up. "Ohhhhh. I know you! You're that bitch that ran away to live with the rich side because she was _special_." He spat the word special like it was dirty, then literally spat on the floor in front of them. Jip saw red. She was on top of him, punching him in the face. She heard a fight breaking out around her, heard Theta let out a half shout, but it was all background noise.

Someone kicked her hard in the stomach, winding her and knocking her to the side. She saw someone standing over her, then saw Theta breaking someone's nose behind him and grinned with pride. Rejuvenated, she punched the person in front of her once in the side of their knee, hard. The leg made a snapping sound as it broke to the side and Jip felt good knowing she could do that without much effort.

She stood, pushed the person she now knew was a man to the side, making him trip and fall with the force of it. Then she observed her boys. Like Koschei had said, Theta held his own. He was fast, barely getting hit at all. She wished she'd been there for his lessons. Then she looked to Koschei and her hearts sank. He was being held down by two men, his arms pinned to the bar as a third man punched him in the face repeatedly.

Jip jumped onto the third man's back, halting him mid-punch, and squeezed his throat. The man started gagging, then all sound stopped together as he flailed around. Jip let go as he sank to his knees.

Koschei was up again, one of the men that had been holding him down was missing, Koschei punching and dodging with the other with satisfaction and excitement running through him.

Jip was about to turn to check on Theta again, a satisfied smile on her face, until she felt something cold slide into her side.

Theta caught her as she fell.

"No! Come on, you can regenerate, right? You should feel something, I think, um, Koschei! Help!" Theta babbled. Koschei was standing with his back to him, stood in front of them protectively, eyes locked with a man holding a bloody knife. Was that her blood?

"I feel weird," she slurred. She could feel both her boys' distress, but couldn't make the connection as to why they would be feeling so much fear and worry.

"You're in shock, Jip, can you feel it or not?" Koschei said in frustration.

Jip thought about it. Regeneration. They were told it would feel like something building up, to just let it come naturally.

She felt it, slowly, like it didn't know what to do. She shook her head.

"I don' know how. I feel it.."

"Focus on it!" Koschei said, his voice betraying his panic. The man with the knife started speaking.

"Aw, is your girlfriend gonna die?" he cooed, mockingly, "Not a real Time Lady, maybe she can't do it!" The man laughed, and Jip focused on him. She felt numb, far away, but another glance at the knife had her hearts beating in panic.

He'd stabbed her! And Koschei was facing off with him like a bull.

 _Regenerate, regenerate..._

She shut her eyes tight, finally feeling the pain in her stomach, like she was burning. She focused on the feeling, deep down, struggling to push its way up. She felt it building.

 _Strong, strong, strong enough to destroy, to protect her boys, to get them out of this_

Her body started glowing, she felt hot, and getting hotter. She gasped at the strange feeling. Theta let her down gently and stood back.

Then the energy engulfed her, shooting out of her. She screamed as she felt every cell in her body die and change.


	6. Chapter 6: Koschei

As Koschei felt the heat of Jip's regeneration against his back, he burned with the need to turn the man's knife back on him and shove it into his throat. He was less than nothing in Koschei's eyes, just a weakling who needed a knife to hide behind. The way he spoke, it was obvious he was jealous of them.

Koschei wanted to see the envy in his eyes when he realized he couldn't save himself with regeneration. The hatred that a Time Lord had been the cause of his death. The drums cheered his thoughts on, like a battle march.

The heat on his back faded, along with the light that had been illuminating his target in an orange hue. He heard a deep voice behind him but didn't dare take his eyes off the weakling in case he tried to take him when his back was turned.

"Shiiiit! That hurt! Ow!"

Then a tall, lanky man was standing to his right, slightly ahead of him. Koschei looked him up and down, instantly knowing who it was. He had light brown hair now, instead of the red hair that Koschei thought fit her so well. His disguise robes, colored with blood around his middle, now only reached half way to his ankles.

Koschei's eyes went back to their target after seeing she, _he_ was alright, dismissing the new appearance as unimportant for now.

"I seem to be slightly taller," Jip said, looking down at himself.

"You also seem to have a dick, now," Theta said, coming up on Jip's right and grabbing his hand.

All unimportant. Koschei stepped in front of Jip, staring into the man's eyes, going through his shields like they were water.

His eyes went wide with fear, not moving an inch. Koschei smirked.

When Koschei spoke, it wasn't with the soft, enticing voice he'd practiced on Theta with. Instead it was commanding. Quiet, yet strong.

"Now, do you know what I want you to do?"

The man shook his head frantically.

"Point the knife towards your throat."

The man did so, shaking violently.

The drums felt like a song inside his head and he finally got it. They wanted power.

"Now, as slow as you can, push it through your neck."

The rest of the bar was deathly silent as the man did what he was told. Blood began trickling down his throat.

"Stop!" he heard Theta yell, and then felt hands on his shoulders as the other stood in front of him, like Jip had done earlier, "Koschei, stop this!"

"Freeze," Koschei commanded. The man froze.

"Don't you think we've done enough damage here?" Theta asked softly. Despite his voice, Koschei could tell he was angry, had accepted he was going to be angry over this. "Jip just regenerated, she got _stabbed_. We need to get her, _him_ , back. What if he has a bad reaction? This isn't worth it!" he said urgently.

"I feel fine," he heard Jip say in his new voice. Koschei looked over at him for a second to see him bouncing on his feet with a cocky smirk. Then his face dropped and he snarled in the direction of the man _,_ eyes instantly glowing in his fury. Koschei looked back at the man to see him lunging at Theta, knife pulled back, ready to stab the person in front of him, Theta.

Koschei grabbed Theta instantly, pulling him around so he was in front of him instead. Before he could make his move, Jip lunged forward and punched the man in the jaw. His head went up and to the side with the force and he fell on his back a few feet back, sprawled out on the ground. Koschei had heard a sickening crack as Jip's fist connected.

Koschei didn't have time to think on that, as suddenly everyone was running at them again.

This time Theta stayed back, a furious expression on his face, as both Jip and Koschei fought off the other Shobogans.

With Jip's new body he fought like a panther, dodging and striking out with strength and speed he didn't have before. Koschei would take someone down with a few punches and then stop to watch him in action again. The man with the knife still hadn't moved.

Theta stayed out of it as much as he could. When he couldn't he would simply kick whoever was coming at him in the groin and floor him in a second. It was obvious he was done with this, despite throwing himself in earlier just as much as they had.

Three gunshots ring out through the bar. At first, Koschei is confused about the noise, not used to such primitive weapons, then he sees a woman standing on the bar, gun pointed in the air.

"Everyone out! The authorities will be here in about five minutes, I suggest you get out before then." Then the woman sat down behind the bar and poured herself a drink like nothing had happened.

Everyone quickly cleared out. Some had unconscious or barely conscious people draped over their shoulders as they left. Koschei went to Theta first, pulling him toward Jip by his upper arm.

"We have to go," Koschei said as Jip stared at the man he'd punched, who was still in the same position. He didn't respond in anyway, just kept staring. He got worried. He came around to stand in front of him, looking up at him now instead of down like he was used to. His face was white, eyes almost wide open. Koschei tugged on his arm, he didn't move.

"Is he dead?" he asked quietly. Koschei looked back at the man, frowning. There was a trickle of blood rolling down his neck, his head was at an odd angle and his chest wasn't moving. Koschei reached out mentally to him and felt nothing. With Jip's mental abilities he would have known that instantly, which meant he was hoping for a negative answer. Koschei bit his lip.

"Yes," he said sympathetically.

He put an arm around Jip's shoulders and started leading him out of the bar, pulling Theta along with them.

It kind of scared him, how much he didn't care about the dead man. It kind of scared him that a while ago he was going to force him to stab himself in the neck. But Jip had lost a life to him. It was only fair he'd lost his to the same person he'd killed earlier. Almost poetic.

Both his partners remained worryingly silent on the way out.

* * *

The drums were quiet now, and with their loss they left Koschei feeling like his head was stuffed with cotton.

The walk back was slow, both Jip and Koschei needing to help steady each other occasionally, while Theta walked ahead of them. Now that the fight was over, Jip was having trouble walking with his new legs, not used to how long they were now. Koschei just felt weird, like he was drugged, too calm, too sedated. He kept tripping and his movements were slightly sluggish.

He felt like he'd been brain washed for a long time and was just starting to wake up. He didn't like the feeling.

Since he was nine years old it was them three against the world. At least, that's how it was for Koschei. They looked out for each other, loved each other. And now, because he couldn't control himself, he'd hurt both of them.

Because of him Jip had _died._ The guilt was overwhelming him and he thought it'd be easier just to give in, give in to the drums and stop caring.

But he couldn't lose them. He couldn't.

He could have, over a stupid bar fight.

"This isn't on you. I brought us there, I knew what would happen, maybe not the extent, but I needed a fight just as much as you did, Koschei. You're not the only one to blame here."

Koschei stayed silent for a long time, occasionally catching Jip as he tripped or stumbled, him doing the same for him back, before he finally found the courage to say what he'd been needing to say for a while, "This isn't going to go away. The drums, whatever they are. It's getting worse, I'm losing control." Koschei paused, clenching his teeth, finding it hard to admit weakness, "This is how I'm always going to be. Are you sure you're up for that? A lifetime of making sure I don't go to far?" He swallowed thickly. "I was going to kill him. I was, and it felt.. _glorifying._ "

"Before, after I saw him with the knife, while I was getting ready to regenerate, I focused everything on getting another body that could tear that man apart," Jip admitted, the words coming out low and thick, "I was going to kill him, in my last body I think I would have at that moment. And then, I did. I killed someone."

"It was an accident," Koschei defended.

"Maybe," he admitted, "But if you think you're the only one messed up here, you're wrong. And I'm not going anywhere."

Jip held his hand out and Koschei grabbed it, giving a small smile. They walked the rest of the way holding hands and shoulders touching, leaning on each other.

When they were almost back to the Academy Theta finally turned around and walked back to them.

They all stopped, Jip and Koschei staring at Theta nervously and Theta staring blankly back.

"Theta, I-" Jip started.

"I don't want to be mad at either of you. You both wanted to let off steam, and it went too far. You didn't mean for it to happen, I know. Just. Say you're sorry."

"Theta, really, I am truly sorry for what I put you through today," Jip said.

"I lost it, I know, and I'm sorry, Theta. But I can't promise stuff like that won't happen again," Koschei said honestly.

"I know," Theta said, "It was kind of fun.. at first."

Jip put an arm around his shoulder and he burrowed into his side and they made their way back to the Academy.


	7. Chapter 7: Theta

A/N sorry about the wait, I broke my hand and its been frustrating to type. Thank you to everyone who review followed and favorited this story.

In a Third Dpctpr era story the Doctor tells Jo about a homeless man who he considered a mentor named K'anpo

* * *

As soon as they reached the Academy, Theta rushed off towards the barn he used to hide in when he had nightmares. Now, he could usually sneak into the TARDIS if he had any and he'd let her humming lull him to sleep, or go to Jip or Koschei. But now they were the problem, not the TARDIS but they would find him there and he didn't want to see them and get mad all over again.

He didn't want to be mad at them, but no matter how much he twisted it around in his head they were the ones that caused all this. Theta had watched Jip kill another person, had watched Koschei almost force a man into stabbing himself in the neck, had felt good after punching someone so hard they fell to the ground. Jip could have died, _did_ die.

Had felt a very tiny amount of relief when he realized the man was dead, the threat was gone.

He buried himself under the covers of the old cot he used to sleep on and closed his eyes, hoping for sleep that wouldn't come, just like when he was eight and he'd witnessed his first murder.

But this felt different. He remembered hearing a snap which had to have been the man's neck snapping. It echoed through his head like nails on a chalk board.

Koschei and Jip seemed to think getting away from Gallifrey would help them all, but now Theta thought they were holding onto false hope. Koschei was going insane. He heard a noise in his head that couldn't be real, yet Jip treated them like they were. He was trying so hard to get them away but Theta didn't think the place was the problem anymore.

But he loved them, he didn't think he could leave Gallifrey without them.

The question finally occurred to him, was Jip alright?

* * *

Theta stayed up for hours, thoughts and doubts circling his mind. He could admit it, he was scared, he was bloody terrified for whatever the future held for them. He was terrified for whatever leaving would do to them.

It was a big universe, and an almost infinite amount of Time to explore. They would run into trouble down the line. Would Jip's new regeneration kill even easier now? Could Koschei keep from giving in? The image of the man in the bar pushing a knife into his own throat flashed under his eyelids.

They needed help.

The image of his own fist connecting with someone's nose.

They all needed help.

* * *

Just before the suns rose the barn door opened slowly. Theta froze, staying as quiet as he could.

He heard the door creak shut then a man's voice echo through the barn.

"I brought fish with me, you may join me if you wish."

There was the sound of something being placed on the floor.

"What do you want?" Theta called out.

He heard a soft chuckle and then a grunt. Theta peeked out to see an old man with a long gray beard struggling to lower himself to the ground. Once he was sitting he opened a round container and started eating what looked like fried fish.

"I only thought you might like some company, despite where you are choosing to be."

After a moment, Theta climbed out of the cot and sat across from the old man, frowning at him. He seemed strange, wearing old worn robes with no symbols or telling colors, they were just brown and layered.

The man pulled out another container out of a bag he was wearing on his back and slid it over to Theta with a kind smile.

Theta hesitated, used to only being able to trust Jip and Koschei, but decided the man didn't seem to mean any harm. He opened the container and took a bite. It was good.

"I am K'anpo," the man said, bowing his head slightly.

"Theta Sigma," he said, mimicking the head movement. K'anpo smiled softly at him.

"I can tell you are trouble, Theta Sigma."

Theta looked down at his feet.

"I just, um, saw something. Again. Something..." he trailed off, not sure of what he could say. The old man seemed nice but he wasn't sure he could tell him anything. He tried changing the subject. "Where are you from?"

"Here. I live further into the woods. If you follow the river upstream for a mile there's a lake. My cabin is there." The man smiled warmly at him. "If you ever wish to talk to someone, I won't tell a soul if you do not wish me to."

Theta frowned, growing suspicious, "I mean no offense but.. why?"

"Everyone has secrets, thoughts, doubts, that they can't tell the people around them. You seem to have one or more of those. It is not healthy to hold them in, especially when you are in need of advice."

They ate in silence for a few minutes, Theta mulling over K'anpo's words. He wanted to tell him something, despite him being a stranger and because he was a stranger. He bit his lip, a habit he couldn't seem to shake, before he spoke, "There is a violence in me. I think there always has been, but I've recently discovered I liked bringing it out,"

Theta expected to see judgment when he looked up, instead he saw easy acceptance and compassion. K'anpo gave small nod for him to continue. "We all do, I think. My friends and I. I think its what drew us to one another. That and loneliness. They think leaving will fix them."

"You don't believe it will?"

"Not completely, no."

"Then you are wise. Violence may come from an environment, a situation, but it will not go away completely if you take those factors away. Everyone has violence in them, but it's your perspective on that violence that dictates whether you can leave it behind," K'anpo took another bit of his fish before continuing, "If you wish, Theta Sigma, I am willing to offer my assistance. I know of loneliness and resentment, but out here I have found peace."

Theta quirk his lips in a questioning smile. "I thought you said getting out didn't work."

K'anpo hummed. "No, but it does help. Tell me, what would you do if you left Gallifrey?"

"Explore," Theta answered without hesitation, eyes lighting up as he sat a little straighter, "Learn new cultures, new people, see all these beautiful things we learn about at the Academy."

K'anpo smiled with him. "Then I believe you should go, when the time is right. It won't fix everything but you have a passion for adventure, for learning new things. I could tell from the moment you bowed your head back at me."

The barn door slammed open, ruining the moment, and both men turned to look. Koschei was rushing towards him, an angry scowl on his face. Theta could tell by his red and puffy eyes he'd been crying. Koschei never cried.

He jumped up in concern. "What's wrong?"

"They took him," Koschei growled.

"What? Who took who?"

" _Jip!_ They took Jip! A group of armed men barged in on us in his room, said he was under arrest and carried him out!" Koschei began pacing back and forth in front of Theta. A tell tale sign lately that the drums were getting too loud. Koschei finally seemed to notice their guest and stopped dead in front of him, stance threatening. "Who are you?"

"I am K'anpo," he answered as calmly as always. Then he stood, taking his container and the rest of the contents with him before bowing slightly. "You have my word I will not repeat what I have heard. I wish you both well."

Koschei glared fiercely at him until he was out through the barn door and out of site then turned around to face Theta. Now that K'anpo was gone, he could see the fear in his partner's eyes.

"Theta, this has to be about last night. His eyes were glowing, he punched someone so hard his neck snapped. They probably have multiple witnesses stating they saw three Academy students, one who regenerated from female to male, and now he's regenerated into a male with no explanation, no aliby.. Theta we need to get him out of there, we need to get the TARDIS working enough to get us out of here without being detected. Time Lord jails are not somewhere you want to be."

Theta put his hands on either side of Koschei's head, staring him straight in the eyes. "We're not leaving him there, but we'll need a plan. This can't go wrong."

Koschei's shoulders sagged in relief and Theta kissed him hard before letting go. They both looked at each other with determination in their eyes.


End file.
